'98 Amigo - stuck on crankshaft pulley

[hangdogblues]

Did not know the old "breaker-bar-against-the-frame-while-hitting-the-starter" trick, so I took off the serpentine and all the other pulleys (except the tensioner--i need advice on that too). Now what do I do? I've bought several tools that I thought might get the job done. I got a cheap plastic/rubber strap wrench that felt like it was going to break as soon as I got it near the car. I exchanged that for a metal tool that was very similar, except it had something very similar to a motorcycle chain instead of the rubber strap, but that wasn't big enough. I stuck a tap into one of the holes in the side of the pulley and used a box-end wrench on that pushing against the socket on the center nut as I turned it ( the socket) the other way with a breaker bar. Bent the tap. What's the trick? Am I turning it the wrong way? Haynes suggests a strap wrench (where do I get one big and strong enough), or water pump pliers (WTF is that and where do I get some).

I'm doing a timing belt/head gasket job b/c my engine was missing and throwing oil out the right side of the engine, and I can't afford the kind of money it would cost to have even the "best-case" repairs done. My mechanic said the whole left bank was missing because timing belt probably jumped. This doesn't explain why oil was coming out of the other bank, so I figure best case I need a new head gasket on the right and a new timing belt and I'll do the other head gasket because I need to see if there's any damage from the timing belt jump. I guess worst case is, what, valve/piston collision? Worse? I've never done any engine work before (just starters, alternators, etc.) and I'm all alone here. I'm also on a pretty tight schedule, at least for a beginner who works every day 70+ hrs./week , so please advise.